A new friend

Since it is Garden Walk weekend, I thought this would be an appropriate day to post these shots of our new little backyard friend. The girls and I see her almost every evening. As long as we don't make any sudden moves, she is happy to sit and munch several feet away while Charlotte and Grace play with all the toys in our backyard. My neighbor Bob is not happy about the damage she (and her other bunny friends, I suspect) is doing to his beautiful garden. We like her, though. Knock yourself out in our yard, little bunny.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Just to keep us on our toes, Grace has become a huge binky addict in the last week or so. She found a binky that Louisa left here and really started using it alot when she was so sick. Yesterday, I think she had it in her mouth 55 minutes out of each hour. It seems a little sudden, considering she didn't use a binky at all for the first 13 months of her life. But oddly enough that line of reasoning didn't get me very far with her. We think her teeth may really be bothering her and the binky is helping. Then again, babies don't seem to need a reason to up and change on you. It keeps things interesting around here. In a good way :)

At the End of a Hard Day

everybody likes to relax with a nice, cold beverage. And watch an edifying episode of Teletubbies. That we have already seen 49 times.

These are terribly grainy and flat and I used my *gasp* flash. But how could I pass up a scene as cute as this?



Love the belly :)



Charlotte has become quite an accomplished little bed-jumper. Grace is unimpressed by her sister's gymnastics.

Happy

I have lots of Grace and Charlotte pictures from last week that I haven't had a chance to look at. Here are two of them. Grace has been pretty sick and is finally feeling better. I looked at her yesterday and thought she looked older. I think she has lost weight (4 days of nothing but water will do that to you) and her face has lost some of that pudginess. I realize the baby fat pudginess is on the decline anyway. I have a hard time imagining her as a skinny little kid running around like Charlotte, but those days will be here awfully soon.

One thing I love about Grace right now the way she curls her legs up around my side when I carry her and sits right in the crook of my elbow and wraps her arm around and holds onto my shirt behind my back. This soft and cuddly ball of baby fat riding on my hip. And in my peripheral vision there are those saucers she calls eyes peering out watching the world go by. I am not very good at describing it, but I wanted to note it down because she is growing so fast. I haven't figured out how to capture a photograph of it yet.


Charlotte thought she was being very tricky, running around the corner out of my sight and then charging back in and yelling "Ta Da!".

In the bath

I have been wanting to take some pictures in the bath for a long time. I was kind of waiting for the bathroom remodel to be done, but I realized the girls might be a little self-conscious doing tub shots when they are teenagers. (sorry, honey) Here are some pictures from last Sunday. I know it was Sunday because that is hair-washing day.

My future's so bright...

...I gotta wear shades.


We spent the weekend with our friends Joe and Patty at their cottage in the fingerlakes and had a really nice time. I took lots of pictures, but am too tired to look at them all tonight. Here are some I found on my first glance.

Grace really liked the pool.

Jeffrey in his favorite hat.

A bacony smile from Sarah.

Just one

I have been busy this past week and giving Grace and Charlotte a break from being my best little models. Here is one of Grace in the kitchen that I liked, though.

My girls

It was a bit of a crazy evening tonight. Just me and the girls since it was Derek's first night of his summer session classes. After dinner and playing outside and baths and jammies, we were having a peaceful moment of playing before bedtime. That is to say, Charlotte and Grace were playing (on opposite sides of the room, thank God) and I was sitting in the chair in our bedroom with my eyes sort of glazed over. Out of the blue, Charlotte got up and ran over to me and said "Mommy!" and tried to climb into my lap. I boosted her up and she was saying something that I hadn't heard before and I couldn't figure out what it was immediately. She was giggling on my lap and I was trying to piece together the vowel sounds in hindsight to figure out what she was telling me when it hit me. She just said "I love you, too." Which is when I almost passed out from love for the little twerp.

Here are some shots from tonight.

Here, Charlotte is checking on the pansies that she helped plant.


Grace loves her bottle. We are going to have trouble with this one, I think.



edited to add one more - this is Grace on the landing of the front stairs this weekend.